Four Star General
by aviatrix8
Summary: There's a reason why the prototype 4-star uniforms were shelved... (Final chapter up!)
1. Jacket Required

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2015. Kill la Kill and all related characters are property of Trigger, and are used without permission.

xXx

This story takes place before the beginning of the series.

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Kill la Kill fanfic:

"Four Star General"

by Avi

Part 1: "Jacket Required"

High atop Honnouji Academy, within the Student Council room, Satsuki Kiryuin sat upon her chair like a throne, as the Elite Four stood before her. In front of them, stood Shiro Iori, with a clipboard in his hands.

"Iori. Report," commanded Lady Satsuki.

"Yes, milady. As per your request, we have begun production of the prototype four-star Goku uniform. As we speak, the Sewing Club is weaving fabric composed of 40% Life Fibers."

"Excellent. Now there is just the matter of who will be first to wear a four-star uniform."

"Surely you're the one most worthy to wear four stars, Lady Satsuki," said Jakuzure.

"I am content with wielding just my sword, Jakuzure; it's more than a match for any opponent. No, the honour shall fall to one of you, my four generals... My Elite Four."

At this, the Elite Four bowed deeply.

"Milady, I volunteer myself to wear the first four-star uniform," said Gamagori. "As your Shield, I will use it to protect you with my life."

"You?" Sanageyama snorted. "I deserve to wear four-stars more than you, Gamagori!" He turned to Lady Satsuki. "Milady, I will cut down any one that opposes you, if you give me this honour."

"Now, now boys, don't fight... You're both pretty," mocked Jakuzure. "Besides, we all know that Lady Satsuki should pick me to wear the first four-star uniform."

"What makes you better than the rest of us?" snapped Sanageyama.

"I just am, all right? I have far more breeding than the rest of you bozos combined. Not to mention that I've known Lady Satsuki for the longest."

"Those reasons are crap and you know it!" Sanageyama retorted.

Before Jakuzure and Sanageyama could begin a full blown argument, Iori raised a hand.

"Might I interject, milady?"

"Speak." The rest of the Elite Four immediately fell silent.

Iori bowed his head. "In my professional opinion, I recommend that Inumuta be the first to try on the four-star uniform."

"Inumuta?" chorused three voices in unison. The rest of the Elite Four turned to look at their fourth member, who merely looked up; any expression he might have concealed by his high collar.

"Explain yourself, Iori."

"Yes, milady. Inumuta has displayed a far greater affinity to Life Fibers than any of the other students in Honnouji Academy so far, as demonstrated by how his uniform reacts to him as he speaks. I feel that this should give him greater control over the uniform, should it try to overwhelm him."

"Very well. I will take that into consideration." Lady Satsuki's gaze lingered on each member of the Elite Four, until it rested upon one.

"Inumuta. You shall be the first to don the four-star uniform."

Inumuta bowed. "As you wish, milady." He could feel the jealous gazes of the rest of the Elite Four boring into him, which he pointedly ignored.

If he was to be perfectly honest with himself, this was an honour Inumuta could've done without... But even he was not one to refuse a direct order from Lady Satsuki.

_At the very least, it should provide some fascinating hands on data,_ thought Inumuta to himself. He frowned behind his collar. _So, why do I have a bad feeling about this...?_

xXx

It took a few days before the first prototype four-star uniform was completed, but as soon as it was, the Elite Four found themselves all summoned to the Sewing Club room.

"Ah good, I'm glad you all made it," said Iori, as the Elite Four stood before him.

"Why did you call all of us over here, anyways?" demanded Jakuzure. "I thought only dog-boy over here gets to have a shiny new uniform."

"It's only a precautionary measure," replied Iori. "Should anything go wrong with this fitting, I thought all available three-stars should be present to handle the situation."

All the Elite Four looked somewhat disturbed by these words, though it was hard to tell what Inumuta's reaction was, due to his collar.

Behind Iori, a pair of hazmat-suited Sewing Club members were wheeling in a dress form. Iori beckoned them forward.

"Ah, here it is." Iori swept a hand. "Behold, the first four-star Goku uniform!"

The Sewing Club members stepped aside, to reveal a uniform coat hanging upon the dress form. The Elite Four stared at it curiously.

It looked quite similar to Inumuta's current uniform, except of course, there were sets of four stars upon it, rather than three; the number of spikes on it had also increased to match, and were much longer and sharper-looking than before. Finally, the cuffs were now trimmed with fur, matching the fur on the collar.

"Just a jacket?" asked Gamagori. "Why not a full uniform?"

"Since this is just a prototype, I felt that this would be sufficient for initial testing," replied Iori. "It should sync up with the rest of Inumuta's uniform, though; I made certain of that."

"Well, then." Sanageyama punched Inumuta in the shoulder. "I guess you're up, champ."

"Don't embarrass youself too badly," sneered Jakuzure.

Inumuta pushed up his glasses. "Hmph." He removed his uniform jacket, revealing a black v-necked shirt underneath. Handing the jacket over to Iori, Inumuta then approached the four-star uniform.

Up close, Inumuta couldn't help but find something menacing about this new uniform... Something about the extra fur and the sharpened spikes gave the impression of a wolf baring its fangs. Mentally, he shook off the image; he wasn't about to let mere clothing psych him out, and certainly not in front of the rest of the Elite Four.

Without any further ado, Inumuta pulled the four-star jacket off the dress form, and put it on.

As Inumuta zipped up the jacket all the way, everyone else watched him expectantly.

"Well?" asked Gamagori.

"It's rather tight," replied Inumuta, who then grimaced. "Too tight..." It felt like the jacket was constricting around his chest.

"Tight? But it shouldn't be tight," said Iori, frowning. "I used the exact same measurements as your three-star uniform. Inumuta, take it off so I can look at it."

Inumuta tugged at the zipper, but it didn't budge.

"The zipper is stuck," Inumuta gasped. It was getting harder for him to breathe.

"Let me see!" Iori's brow furrowed as he tried to unzip Inumuta from the jacket, but to no avail.

"But... It was working fine earlier!" The others could hear the panic in Iori's voice.

"Here, let me do it!" Sanageyama pushed the smaller boy away somewhat rudely, then pulled down on the zipper as hard as he could.

The four-star jacket flew open. Inumuta gasped for air.

"Oh, thank God..." Even Jakuzure couldn't hide her relief.

"Here, let me take this off of you," said Iori, as he pulled the jacket off Inumuta... Or at least, tried to.

"What is this?" Iori frowned. "I can't get the sleeves off!"

"Lemme help," said Sanageyama, grabbing the other sleeve. He then started to frown as well.

"What the hell is up with this uniform?" he exclaimed. "It's like trying to pull off a pair of wet jeans!"

"Just get it off me already!" snapped Inumuta, dropping any pretense of calm.

In the end, it took the combined efforts of all of them to try remove the jacket off of Inumuta; Sanageyama grabbed one sleeve, as Iori and Jakuzure grabbed the other, while Gamagori grabbed Inumuta by the waist and pulled.

With a snap, Inumuta was finally freed from the four-star uniform. The glasses-boy fell on top of Gamagori in a heap, while the other three fell backwards, still holding the uniform jacket. In unspoken agreement, they all dropped it like a hot coal, and backed away.

"I'm not sure I want a four-star uniform anymore," muttered Sanageyama.

"I knew the nerd wouldn't be able to handle it." Though she sounded smug, Jakuzure clearly looked unnerved.

"If you think you can do better, why don't you try it on, you viper?" retorted Inumuta, as he got to his feet. His voice sounded sharper than usual.

Jakuzure stared at the coat lying on the floor. She'd never admit it, but after what just happened, she wouldn't want that thing anywhere near her body either.

"No way! Like I'd ever wear anything as tacky as your uniform," said Jakuzure airily, managing to keep her voice steady.

"Iori designed your uniform, as well as mine. Therefore, that would make your taste in clothing just as tacky, as it were."

Meanwhile, Iori had just gingerly picked up the four-star jacket, which was now as limp as normal clothing should be. He carefully hung it back on the dress form.

"I'm sorry, Inumuta," began Iori. "I was so certain the uniform would fit you properly..."

"I don't think the fit was the problem..." muttered Gamagori.

Meanwhile, Inumuta had picked up his three-star jacket, which had fallen on the floor during all the excitement.

"Don't worry, Iori," replied Inumuta, as he put his usual jacket back on (though not without a moment of hesitation). "I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to do this."

"I'll run some tests on the four-star uniform," said Iori. "I'm certain I can isolate the problems with it."

"You should be careful around that thing," warned Gamagori.

"I concur," said Inumuta. "It's far more dangerous than we initially calculated."

"I'll make sure to keep it pinned down properly." Iori turned to Inumuta. "And you should keep away from it, Inumuta; the uniform clearly wanted to bond with you, in some way. I can handle the analysis on my own."

Inumuta nodded. Despite his natural love for data, he couldn't help but agree; besides, he wanted to get as far away from the four-star uniform as possible. Inumuta would never say this out loud, but the difference between wearing the three-star and four-star uniforms was like comparing an affectionate puppy to a rabid wolf.

Meanwhile, Iori had called over a couple of Sewing Club members armed with tranquilizing rifles; the Elite Four watched as the Sewing Club members pinned down the four-star jacket with tranquilizing darts.

Content that the uniform was now subdued, the Elite Four went their separate ways, while Iori wheeled the dress form holding the uniform into his office. The Sewing Club president then turned off the light, and locked the door.

In the dim light of the office, gold and red threads glistened across the black stars across the chest of the jacket, like barely slitted eyes...

TO BE CONT...


	2. Bad Wolf

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2015. Kill la Kill and all related characters are property of Trigger, and are used without permission.

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Kill la Kill fanfic:

"Four Star General" by Avi

Part 2: "Bad Wolf"

The next morning, Iori walked into the Sewing Club room, clearly looking preoccupied. He had spent most of the previous day running tests on the four-star uniform, but it showed no signs of the hostility it displayed during the fitting yesterday.

Iori sighed, as he unlocked the door to his office. Perhaps today he'd be able to identify the problem...

The door swung open, and Iori stared. The dress form holding the four-star uniform was where he left it, but the uniform itself was conspicuously absent. The darts that had been holding it in place, were scattered all over the floor.

Frantically, Iori began to search the room. There was no sign at all to where the uniform might be. He then checked the office door to see if it had been tampered with, but there was no sign of that either. Besides, the security system that had been installed was designed by Inumuta, and nobody else in Honouji Academy could crack his codes.

Iori's brow furrowed deeply, as he stepped outside of his office. A nearby Sewing Club member noticed his expression.

"Sir? Is there something wrong?"

Iori sighed. There was no help for it... This situation was too dangerous to ignore.

"The prototype four-star uniform has gone missing from my office," said Iori. "Have all members search the Sewing Club room for it; I'm going to report directly to the Student Council about the situation."

The Sewing Club member saluted. "Understood, sir."

With a sweep of his lab coat, Iori headed out of the Sewing Club room.

As the main door closed behind him, there was a white blur, like a furry animal slipping itself into a crack...

xXx

Iori was walking down the hallway to the Student Council room, when he thought he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye.

He frowned. All the way over here, he had the feeling that some animal was following him. But that was absurd; Lady Satsuki would never allow pets or vermin into Honouji Academy.

And yet... Iori hesitated, right in front of the entrance of the Student Council room. He could hear a sound behind him like... Running paws?

Iori turned just in time to see a white blur of fur and spikes flying at his face, before his vision blacked out completely.

xXx

Three of the Elite Four were inside the Student Council room, when suddenly, a figure burst in through the main doors, as if shoved backwards by a powerful force; it then staggered briefly, and collapsed.

Immediately, the three Student Council members surrounded the strange intruder, who was still struggling on the floor.

"Is that Iori?" said Sanageyama, noticing the lab coat and blond hair. "What the hell is on his face?"

Gamagori's eyes widened, as he saw a familiar blue power cord hanging off the white cloth wrapped around Iori's head. "Is that... Inumuta's four-star uniform?"

Meanwhile, Jakuzure had knelt beside Iori, and had already grabbed the power cord. "You idiots, he's going to choke to death! Help me pull this goddamn thing off of him!"

Frantically, the three tried to find some place where they could pry the uniform off Iori's face, but the cloth was plastered on too tightly.

"Holy crap, what's with this thing?" Sanageyama swore. "First it tries to kill Inumuta, and now Iori?"

"We have to hurry!" exclaimed Gamagori. "I'm not sure he has much air left!"

Jakuzure leapt to her feet, eyes blazing. "You stupid piece of designer trash!" she yelled at the uniform. "The doggie wouldn't even use you to wipe his ass!"

The collar of the uniform turned towards Jakuzure. She had the disconcerting feeling of being stared at by the four stars across it.

Suddenly, the uniform leapt off Iori's face. The blond boy immediately gasped for air.

"Iori, are you all right?" demanded Gamagori.

"Could be better," replied Iori in a strangled voice. "I've never been so glad to wear a gas mask in my life..."

There was a shrill shriek. The three boys turned, to see the four-star uniform now wrapped around Jakuzure's torso like a straightjacket.

"You freaking perverted uniform, get the hell off me!" yelled Jakuzure. She then gasped, as it tightened around her.

"This just keeps getting better and better..." muttered Sanageyama, as he and the others attempted to free Jakuzure from the uniform.

"Maybe we can stretch it enough so she can squirm out!" suggested Iori.

"Hurry up and do it already! I'm not into this crap like Gamagori is!"

Gamagori shook his head, as he yanked at the uniform. "You make jokes at a time like this?"

"Only because it distracts me from being crushed to death!" Jakuzure bit her lip and fought back a whimper.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone turned, to see Inumuta standing in the doorway, with his laptop tucked under one arm.

Jakuzure felt the four-star uniform loosen around her; she would've been grateful, if she didn't realize what it meant.

"You stupid dog! Get the hell out of here!" she screamed.

Inumuta stared at her in bewilderment. His eyes then widened as he saw the four-star jacket unwind itself from Jakuzure, and turn towards him.

"Quick, grab it!" said Sanageyama. They all tried to snatch at the jacket, but it was much too quick; it then dropped on all fours and rushed straight towards Inumuta.

Everyone started to chase the rogue uniform, but it was far too late... Inumuta barely had enough time to take a step back, before the four-star jacket was upon him.

Inumuta felt himself being spun around, as the four-star literally stripped the three-star jacket off of him... Both it and his laptop went flying; yet somehow, the three-star jacket managed to cushion the laptop's fall.

However, Inumuta was not so fortunate... He felt his arms being pulled back painfully as the four-star's sleeves slithered up his arms; the jacket then closed itself tightly around his chest and zipped itself all the way up.

The rest of the Elite Four and Iori then found themselves facing their own worst case scenario... Going up against a vicious four-star uniform with one of their own trapped inside it.

They all approached Inumuta warily, until the latter held up a shaky hand.

"Stay back!" ordered Inumuta. "I don't know how long I can hold this thing!"

"Like hell we will! We have to get that thing off of you!" retorted Sanageyama. Drawing his bamboo sword, he lunged at Inumuta.

"Men! Dou! Kote! Men! Dou! Kote!"

The four-star uniform dodged every attack with ease.

"Holy crap, that thing is fast!" exclaimed Jakuzure.

"Of course it is! It's a four-star uniform," Iori pointed out. "It has 10% more Life Fibers than your three-star uniforms, remember?"

"But... Why isn't it transforming?" asked Gamagori.

"It's because it can't," explained Iori. "As soon as we found out the four-star uniform wasn't working as expected, I deactivated that ability."

"That's a small mercy at least," said Gamagori. "It won't be able to use Inumuta's optical camoflage."

"Yeah, but he's still freaking faster than he is in Probe Regalia!" retorted Sanageyama, who was still jabbing furiously at Inumuta with his sword.

"I may not be able to transform," pointed out Inumuta through gritted teeth, "but you can!" He continued to involuntarily dodge every attack.

"I can't do that!" protested Sanageyama. "If your four-star can't transform, then I might seriously hurt you with Blade Regalia!"

Sanageyama took another swipe with his sword, which Inumuta flipped away from; he landed nimbly on his feet.

"Just transform, already!" snapped Inumuta. "It's better that I get hurt rather than this uniform run loose!"

"You're one of us, dude. You think we can just do that?"

"Idiot..." Inumuta muttered. He then ducked, as a massive fist swept over his head from behind.

"Sanageyama is right!" yelled Gamagori, as he aimed punches at Inumuta. "You're part of the Elite Four, and we have to protect our own!"

Gamagori aimed a punch at the floor, which Inumuta leapt away from.

"I'm the Information and Strategy Chair, remember? And I'm telling you, it's far more important to subdue this uniform, than to care about my well-being!"

Just then, Jakuzure leapt onto Inumuta from behind, wrapping her limbs around him like the snake that was her namesake.

"Oh, shut it! Now be a good little doggie for once and let us help you!" She jabbed her baton down Inumuta's collar, and attempted to lever the uniform off him.

Inumuta's eyes suddenly widened. "Jakuzure, look out!"

"Huh?" Jakuzure then found herself hanging on for dear life, as Inumuta began to quickly spin in place. Unable to keep her grip, she flew off him and into the air, screaming.

"Jakuzure!"

As Jakuzure fell to the ground, Gamagori managed to slide underneath her, and catch her with his huge hands.

Inumuta breathed a sigh of relief. His relief was short-lived however, as he found himself dodging a cluster of tranquilizing darts.

"Fire all rounds!" commanded Iori, surrounded by armed reinforcements from the Sewing Club.

Inumuta ran forward, as a long trail of darts landed on the wall beside him. He was moving so quickly that he managed to run up the side of the wall; he then landed right in front of the Sewing Club.

With a sweep of one sleeve, the Sewing Club was instantly disarmed by the four-star uniform. It then turned its attention towards Iori, who took an inadvertant step back.

Involuntarily, Inumuta found himself lunging forward, as he aimed a punch directly at Iori's face.

Iori shut his eyes, waiting for the blow... That did not come. Hesitantly, he cracked open his eyes.

Inumuta's fist was about inch away from Iori' face, and he could also see that the other boy wore an expression of intense pain. Inumuta then let a strangled cry, and fell to his knees.

Iori took a step forward, his face full of concern. "Inumuta, what's wrong -"

"Back off!" yelled Inumuta, who then cradled his right arm; it looked suspiciously limp. "I think I dislocated my arm pulling that punch..." he added, with a wince.

"But we have to do something about your injury!" cried Iori, as the others ran up to them.

"No, I have to do something else first!" With a grunt of effort, he forced himself into a kneeling position, placing his arms on his knees and bowed his head, clearly fighting the will of the uniform all the way.

"Sanageyama!" said Inumuta, gritting his teeth. "Slice the uniform off of me while I still have control!"

"Er, right!" Sanageyama raised his wooden sword.

"I'll do it."

Upon hearing that commanding voice, everyone turned. "Lady Satsuki!"

They all reverently stepped aside, as Lady Satsuki walked up to Inumuta, who bowed his head even further. He then closed his eyes.

Lady Satsuki drew her sword in one swift movement. She then paused, her blade held directly over Inumuta's head... Then performed three quick slashes.

Instantly, the four-star jacket was shredded into tiny pieces, leaving Inumuta's torso completely exposed, without a scratch on him.

Despite being freed from the uniform, Inumuta did not move from his kneeling position. "Forgive me Lady Satsuki... I have failed you," he said quietly. "I will hand in my resignation from the council immediately."

Lady Satsuki gazed down at him curiously, then addressed everyone else in the room. "Are any of you injured?"

They all shook their heads. "No, milady."

She looked down at Inumuta again. "And you managed to keep control of the uniform long enough to have it removed from you; not everyone could do that. No, I will not be rid of you quite yet." She then knelt beside him.

"Are you injured, Inumuta?"

"Milady... I dislocated my right shoulder during the course of the fight."

"I see." Her right palm suddenly struck out; Inumuta gasped as he felt his shoulder pop back into place. He then passed out, his glasses slipping off as he fell to the ground.

Lady Satsuki turned to the rest of the Elite Four. "Take him to the infirmary."

"Milady." Gamagori carefully picked up Inumuta's unconscious form and headed out of the Student Council room, with Sanageyama and Jakuzure following close behind.

Iori was just about to follow them, when he heard his name called out.

"Iori."

"Yes, milady?"

"Until further notice, we are putting production of any and all four-star uniforms on hold. Is that understood?"

Iori bowed deeply. "Understood, milady."

Lady Satsuki nodded. Then with a clack of her heel, she headed towards her usual seat, pointedly ignoring the wreckage of the Student Council room surrounding her.

Iori turned to leave, then paused. Kneeling down, he reached out to pick up Inumuta's glasses, which had been left behind.

As he stood up, he stared at the blue lenses for a moment, then gripped them tightly. Then, with an unreadable expression on his face, Iori headed out of the Student Council room.

TO BE CONT...

xXxXx

One chapter left... This one was to be longer, but I decided to release the rest with the Epilogue instead.


	3. Five Star Review

Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2015. Kill la Kill and all related characters are property of Trigger, and are used without permission.

xXxXx

Kill la Kill fanfic:

"Four Star General" by Avi

Inumuta was sitting up in a bed in the infirmary, with his bare shoulder wrapped in bandages, and his right arm in a sling, when the rest of the Elite Four entered his room.

"The doctor said it was okay for you to take visitors now," said Gamagori, as they all approached Inumuta's bed.

"So, how are you feeling, big guy?" asked Sanageyama.

"I'm covered in bandages and my arm is in a sling. How do you think I feel?" retorted Inumuta.

"Well, it doesn't look like you've injured that sarcastic mouth of yours, at any rate," muttered Jakuzure.

"Your concern over my well-being is touching, Jakuzure."

She snorted in disgust. "Only because there's hardly anyone around here who can keep up with the insults as well as I can."

"Knock it off, you two," said Gamagori, with a frown. "What did the doctor say, Inumuta?"

Inumuta sighed. "The x-rays showed no further damage apart from the dislocated shoulder. I'll have to wear this sling for a few weeks though, depending on how long I take to recover. In the meantime... I'd like to ask you all a favour."

"Sure thing. What do you need?" asked Sanageyama.

"Could you bring me my laptop? I'd like to process some data while sitting in bed."

"But... You're injured!" said Gamagori.

"I can type with one hand."

Jakuzure rolled her eyes. "You're impossible, you know that? You're supposed to be recovering, not working!"

"You expect me to sit around doing nothing while I lie in a hospital bed?" asked Inumuta.

"That's what recovering from an injury means, dumbass!" she retorted.

"Enough already!" snapped Gamagori. "We should let him get some rest." He cleared his throat. "And for the record... I don't think any of us could have handled the situation much better than you did, Inumuta."

Jakuzure and Sanageyama nodded solemnly.

"You managed to regain control of the uniform, even when you were hurt," said Jakuzure.

"Yeah, if it was any of the rest of us wearing that thing, we might've destroyed the whole school," said Sanageyama.

Jakuzure jabbed him with an elbow. "That's not exactly a compliment, you babbling monkey!"

"No, it's all right." Inumuta gave them a small smile. "Thank you all."

The three of them nodded, and walked out of the room. As soon as were outside, Jakuzure waved her baton lazily at the other two.

"Try and make sure that idiot dog doesn't try to work himself to death while he's in there," said Jakuzure. "I have band practice to attend to."

"Later, Jakuzure," said Sanageyama.

She sauntered off a side hallway, just as Iori was walking down the hallway Sanageyama and Gamagori were on.

"Hey, Iori," greeted Sanageyama. "If you're going to see Inumuta, he's just down the hall behind us."

Iori gave him a curt nod, and continued down the hallway.

As Iori walked away, a thought suddenly occurred to Sanageyama.

"Hey, I just realized something..." he told Gamagori. "Did you notice when the four-star uniform tried to attack us, it never went for us directly?"

"What are you talking about? We were fighting it off, weren't we?"

"Yeah, but it was acting defensively against us, the whole time. The only two people it was actively trying to kill, were Jakuzure and Iori."

Gamagori raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Sanageyama placed a hand over his face. "Wow, you don't see it at all, do you?"

"I still don't understand. What's your point?"

Sanageyama shook his head. "And this, my large friend, is why you're clueless in the ways of love."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" snapped Gamagori.

Sanageyama ignored Gamagori's annoyed outburst, as a thought went through his head. _Huh, never thought Inumuta swung both ways... To each their own, I guess._

xXx

Inumuta looked up, as he heard someone enter his hospital room without a word.

"Who is that?" he asked, squinting. "Iori, is that you?"

"Yes." Iori approached the bed. "I have something for you." He placed Inumuta's glasses in the other boy's hand.

"Finally!" Inumuta put on the blue lenses with a sigh of relief. "I was getting sick of seeing nothing but a blur the whole time."

"I'm sure. I have something else, too." Iori handed Inumuta his laptop.

Inumuta's eyes lit up. "You're a lifesaver, Iori!" Inumuta patted the computer casing fondly.

"Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have been damaged at all," said Iori. "Your three-star uniform seemed to have cushioned its fall," he added, as he held up said jacket with his other arm.

"That's a relief." Inumuta opened up the laptop and turned it on, as Iori turned to hang Inumuta's coat on a nearby hook. He listened quietly to Inumuta's laptop booting up, until he could bring himself to say something else.

Iori turned towards the bed. "Inumuta, I..."

Inumuta frowned, as he recognized the tone of voice. "Iori, don't," he warned. "Don't apologize."

"But I have to!" said Iori, with an agonized look upon his face. "It's my fault that you got hurt! Not to mention that I'm the one who recommended you for the first four-star uniform!"

"But that's not entirely your fault. I could've refused, and recommended one of the other Elite Four for the uniform... But my pride wouldn't let me."

"Well, it's my pride that wouldn't allow me to scrap that uniform as soon as we knew it was too dangerous to control," retorted Iori. "That's on my head, too."

Inumuta shook his head. "Please stop blaming yourself, Iori. Besides, I believe that everything that's just happened might've been best for us all."

Iori's eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean that, Inumuta? That thing could've killed you!"

"But it didn't," Inumuta pointed out. "And what do you think would've happened if any of the other Elite Four ended up wearing the four-star uniform?"

Iori fell silent.

"There's a good chance that they would've destroyed the school," continued Inumuta. "Oh, perhaps they would've had better control over the uniform, but now we'll never know, will we?"

Iori shook his head. "I still can't understand how you can be so nonchalant about this..."

"It's my job, remember?" replied Inumuta. "Strategy and Information Chair... I have to assess all the relevant data, for the most optimal outcome. And this, I'm afraid," he said, holding up his injured arm, "might have been the most optimal outcome."

Iori hung his head. Inumuta noticed his expression, and sighed.

"But if you really feel the need to make it up to me, Iori... The doctor told me I need to ice this shoulder every few hours or so... Would you mind helping me out?"

Iori gave him a small smile. "Not at all."

Iori left the room to look for some ice, leaving Inumuta alone with his thoughts.

This was certainly an experience he never wished to relive again, despite receiving some insightful data on the subject. But there was one thing he would never forget, as much as he tried...

The barely audible voice of the four-star uniform, in the back of his mind... Screaming out in an oddly feminine voice:

_You can't have him! He's mine, mine, MINE!_

xXx

Epilogue: "Five Star Review"

In the testing lab of the Sewing Club, Iori and Inumuta stood side-by-side, gazing through a window at the experiment about to unfold.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Inumuta?" asked Iori quietly. "You know what happened last time, with a Goku uniform made of only 40% Life Fibers. And yet you still want to make one from a 50% weave?"

"We need the data, Iori. We're up against a Kamui here; we must test the limits of our capabilities when it comes to Goku uniforms."

"Besides, you know we've taken every precaution. This time, we're piecing together the uniform on a no-star student with practically no power level, and he's under restraint. We have Sewing Club members standing by, armed with tranquilizing guns. Not to mention that I've been in a similar situation before, and have the necessary data to deal with it."

"Well, if you're certain..."

Both boys pushed up their glasses.

"We will now assemble a five-star Goku uniform with a weave of 50% Life Fibers," announced Iori. "Commence the fitting!"

END

xXxXx

So I was imagining Inumuta's jacket flopping around like Senketsu, which was the inspiration for this story. ;P BTW, I nicknamed Inumuta's 4-star jacket Ookami, which I believe means 'wolf' in Japanese... (I also chose the name for its phonetic similarity to kamui.)


End file.
